On February 2, 2015, the White House released the 2016 fiscal year budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Under this proposed plan, DOE would receive $29.9 billion, an increase of $2.6 billion from the 2015...more

2014 was a year that featured many positive legal developments for tribes. From the favorable Supreme Court decision in the Bay Mills case written by Justice Sotomayor (who continues to be a leader on the Court for tribal...more

The House and Senate were busy this week with numerous subcommittee and committee meetings – ethics reform, surface water withdrawal, Pollution Control Act/DHEC Board review, and budget deliberations were a few of the items...more

The final article in the New Laws of 2015 series focuses on new legislation that makes it easier for municipalities and special districts to harness tax increment — the future incremental growth in property tax revenues — for...more

In late September, Governor Brown signed into law AB 229 and SB 628, which are intended to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance previously financed by redevelopment...more

On September 29, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 628 (Chapter 785) which provides a mechanism for cities and counties to form Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) to divert property tax...more

THE RISE AND (UNINTENDED) FALL OF REDEVELOPMENT IN CALIFORNIA.
The rise and fall of redevelopment agencies in California has been extensively written about, including in this publication. The history of redevelopment...more

The North Carolina General Assembly has returned to Raleigh for its "short session", and the legislative bodies are already off to the races with proposed legislation affecting land use controls and local government powers in...more

HB 14-1375, a bill that will negatively impact the use of the urban renewal tool of tax increment financing throughout the state, passed the Senate on Wed., May 7, 2014, and is headed to Gov. Hickenlooper’s desk for...more

The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, May 5, 2014. This will be the last session week until after the May 20 primary. Here’s what happened in Harrisburg this week:
Waterfront Development -
Senator...more

Over two years have passed since Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Legislature dissolved the 400-plus redevelopment agencies throughout the state and ordered them to wind down their operations and finances, with the goal of...more

While legislation driven by the rapid growth of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has dominated oil and gas legislation in recent years, this week, Michigan lawmakers considered bills to enhance viability of other...more

The IRS issued a Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) on May 9, 2013, that the Village Center Community Development District (the "District") is not a division of state or local government, and therefore is not a political...more

Taxpayers and a manufacturer of plastic bags challenged a county ordinance that prohibits retail stores from providing customers with plastic carryout bags and requires the stores to charge their customers ten cents for each...more

Over the last several years, county and city governments have looked anew at a more than 30-year-old provision in the Florida Constitution that permits using property tax exemptions as economic development tools. The Florida...more

The State Legislature finalized three major bills—the tax bill, bonding bill, and the stadium bill—this week after long floor debates and dozens of amendments. Lawmakers ultimately put their stamp of approval on the three...more

Tax Increment Finance continues to be a hot topic at the capitol. The House has its bill, HF2460, on the calendar for debate in the House. Many groups interested in economic development are following this legislation and are...more

SSB3141, a bill that would increase Iowa’s gas tax by five cents per year in 2013 and 2014, took another tentative step forward this week when it was voted out of the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill would...more

In a highly anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court ruled on December 29, 2011, that legislation adopted in July to dissolve redevelopment agencies is constitutional, but that legislation adopted concurrently to...more

This is the third in a series of blog entries monitoring the proposed elimination of redevelopment agencies.
Governor Jerry Brown has approved the "all cuts" 2011-2012 budget for the State of California, in the process...more

Today, hundreds of new laws are effective here in Florida having been signed into law by Florida Governor Rick Scott, demonstrating a controversial and concrete attempt by Florida lawmakers to resolve the state’s current...more

This is the first in a series of blog entries monitoring the proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies and describing alternative public funding sources for redevelopment projects.
After much discussion, debate and...more